Boxing day gift
by JustABite
Summary: One-shot SQ festive story. Regina has an emotional surprise gift waiting for Emma on boxing day..


**Happy boxing day everyone. I sat up half the night to write this idea down. I hope you like it. It sure sounds like my idea of a perfect start to boxing day. I do not own any of the characters or the story, although I've used a small part from the show to start things off. Enjoy.**

'Merry Christmas, dear,' Regina cooed into Emma's sleeping ears, who was now slowly waking up with a big smile on her face. Regina stroked the blondes' hair out of her face and kissed her temple softly.  
'It was Christmas day yesterday babe,' Emmy replied groggily but pulled the Mayor into her arms on the bed anyway. They chuckled together and shared a kiss.  
'I'm surprised you even remember, you had quite a few drinks Miss Swan.' Regina only used that name when she was trying to pretend to be serious. Emma moaned and pulled the covers up higher over her face, embarressed at the thought of Regina seeing her drunk. 'Don't worry dear, I had a lot of cider too and we managed to get up the stairs together, no problem.'  
The blonde re-appeared and smiled at her wife. Christmas morning or not, every day waking up to this beautiful woman felt special. She sat up slowly and adjusted her eyes to the bright morning light coming from the big window in Regina's bedroom. Her wife sat on the side of the bed, looking more cheerful than usual. Henry spent the night at his grandparents after he begged to stay with them. The women had gladly given in and enjoyed their quiet night in, just the two of them. Henry wouldn't be home until later in the day so they still had some time alone together.  
'I made you breakfast,' Regina said proudly, picking up the tray from next to the bed and placing it on Emma's lap. The blonde laughed and realized Regina must have gone way outside of her comfort zone, frying bacon and eggs this early in the day. Usually just the smell would be enough to make the brunette leave the kitchen. Emma pulled her in a tight hug, kissing her softly.  
'You are the best wife ever. Thanks Gina..'  
Regina blushed and smiled warmly. This was definitely the response she was hoping for. She watched Emma tuck in and enjoyed the sight of her enjoying every bite of it. She sipped her own coffee and hoped that Emma was going to love the surprise she had in store for her after breakfast.  
It only took Emma 10 minutes to devour the fried food and she thanked the brunette again. Regina took the tray and placed it on the floor next to the bed, picking up a book next and placing it on the bed, accompanied by a little vial. Emma had a questioning look on her face when she looked at her wife. 'Didn't we open all the presents yesterday?' she asked and Regina shook her head. 'Not this one, obviously. I wanted to keep this one for when we were alone.' She placed the book on Emma's lap and handed her the blue colored potion, held in a crystal vial. 'I made this present especially for you, and I cannot wait to share it with you. It means so much to me..' Regina sighed and Emma hugged her with one arm.  
'Well, don't keep me in suspense Gina,' Emma pointed out impatiently and Regina laughed.  
'First, you should drink this,' the brunette said and pointed at the blue liquid. 'It won't do anything much, you certainly won't notice, just trust me,' Regina continued and Emma decided to just go with it. She drank the potion in one go and waited for any effects to kick in. Regina then pulled out a similar vial and opened it, drinking this one herself.  
'You better not be casting some weird spell over us Gina,' the blonde said with a bit of fear in her voice. The Mayor smiled and shook her head again.  
'This potion links our minds together, not forever but just for the time being, so we can share the same thoughts, memories.' Then, Regina opened the first page of the book and it reveiled a photo of Henry, still a newborn, wrapped in a blanket. Emma looked up at her wife and smiled brightly. 'It's a photo album of Henry?' Emma asked excitedly and Regina smiled back at her. 'It is, but also so much more. It's all the memories we've shared all the years you weren't with us yet..' Regina tried to not let emotions get to her but she found it hard to not feel bad. She grabbed Emma's hand and squeezed it in her own. 'This photo album will take you to all those moments, as if you were re-living your own memories. But they will be my memories..'  
Emma said nothing and Regina could see the blonde was trying not to get emotional either. With hands still knotted together Emma took a deep breath.  
'I'm ready..'  
Before anything, Regina pulled Emma close and kissed her passionately. They had shared many years together and loved every moment of it, but now they were about to share parts of Regina's history too, the parts of parenthood that Emma missed out on. With hearts pounding faster than normal, their foreheads pressed together as they gazed lovingly into each others eyes, Regina placed her free hand over the photo on the first page and, instantly, they found themselves in a small office in Boston.

'Where are we?' Emma asked and Regina stared at herself, sitting at a desk at the adoption agency. They stood against the wall, invisible to the people in the memory.  
'This is the first time I got to meet and hold Henry..' Regina answered and Emma's eyes glued to the past-time brunette. It was weird to be talking to her wife right next to her, while she could also see her sitting in front of her, totally oblivious to their presence. Regina held onto Emma's hand tightly, feeling all the emotions rushing back to her. Emma could not tear her eyes away from the nervous woman sitting in that chair..

'.. _there's one item I would like to go over in detail. This is a closed adoption, which means you'll never be able to contact your childs' birthparents, it's a complete information blackout. Parents' names, ethnicity, geneological records. You won't have access to any of it._

 _'I'm concerned with my childs' future, not his past,' Regina said, feeling lucky._

Emma squeezed Regina's hand. Her eyes were welling up, this was a moment that shouldn't have happened. But she had given up her son, that was the undeniable truth, as painful as it was. If it wasn't for her past choices, Regina would have never had a child, and they wouldn't have met if it wasn't for Henry bringing them together. She tried to see the positives but it was hard.

 _'Well, then congratulations. Are you ready to meet your son?'_

 _Regina couldn't believe this was really happening._

 _'Yes,' she answered and laughed nervously at the man across the desk._

Emma and Regina stood there silently, both inhaling deeply when they saw the woman bringing in a tiny bundle of blanket and baby, handing it to the brunette. The stripey blanket was wrapped around their baby son, who made the sweetest noises once his new mommy held him in her arms.  
Regina looked at her wife, who was now crying. Carefully she pulled her into a comforting hug, knowing how devastating it must feel to see your own baby in someone else's arms, even if they were now married and all living happily together.  
'If I had known how upset it would make you feel I might have skipped this memory..' Regina confessed sadly but Emma shook her head.  
'I'm so glad you shared this perfect moment with me. It was your first moment with Henry, and knowing how happy it made you, brings me comfort in some way..' Regina knew it still hurt and wiped away her wifes' tears.  
'We can just leave and look at the album some other time..?' she suggested but Emma wanted to see more.  
'Let's just stay a bit longer, please..' Emma asked, emotion evident in her voice.  
They looked over at the other Mayor, holding onto Henry with a massive grin on her face. Henry still sounded happy as ever.

 _'Well, hello there.. It was fate, wasn't it? Henry..'_

Emma felt more tears roll down her cheeks but wiped them away with a sad smile. The moment her son got named. Even if it wasn't her choice, she wouldn't change it for the world.  
'I love you Gina, thank you for loving and caring for our son from the start..'  
Regina kissed Emma, tasting the salt of her tears.  
'Thank you, Emma, for more than I could ever start to repay you for..'

 _'You need some help?' the man asked the brunette as she was trying to find a way to hold the now crying Henry steady._

 _'Oh no, no, I've got it,' Regina said laughing nervously. She was sure this was the best day of her life. 'Come on Henry, let's go home..'_

The two women watched as past-time Regina got up and carried their baby out of the office.  
Regina moved her hand off the photo and they instantly returned to the bed they had sat on not too long ago. They never actually left their house, only in their minds. It had all felt so real. Regina had worked on the potion for a long time before sharing it with Emma now. Emma stared at the photo on the page. She could still feel Regina's emotions rushing through her own body.  
'Show me more..' she whispered and squeezed Regina's hand. They shared a smile and then turned a few pages together. The next photo showed mother and son, Henry no older than 4, sitting at Granny's with a milkshake the size of his own head.

Emma had closed her eyes for only a second and when she opened them they were standing right around where the person taking the photo must have stood. With hands still clasped together they took a few steps forward to listen to the past-Henry and Regina.

 _'I need more straws, mommy,' Henry begged._

 _'One straw is more than enough Henry,' Regina said and pushed the shake a bit closer to the boy. 'Two hands please! Hold the glass, be careful!'_

Emma giggled at the sight of Henry as a 4 year old, sticking out his tongue trying to find the end of the straw. It made Regina happy to see Emma giggling about one of her memories with their son.

 _'Mommy I want strawberry, I don't like chocolate.'_

 _'You do like chocolate, you had hot chocolate with cinnamon this morning,' Regina said to the little boy in front of her and he shook his head at her._

 _'I did not! I want the strawberry milkshake!' Henry tried again._

 _Regina shook her head and put on her strict face and voice._

 _'Just drink your milkshake Henry, otherwise I'll just ask Granny to take it away and then you are done!'_

 _Quickly the boy changed his mind and sucked on the straw as if his life depended on it._

'Such a meany, Mrs Mills,' Emma said teasingly at her wife, knowing she still held all the power in their household. No messing about with the Mayor.  
Regina stuck out her tongue and laughed.  
'Parenthood wasn't always rainbows and smiley faces. Little children can be angels at times, but when they've asked you something for the hundredth time or disagreed with you over things you know you are right about it gets pretty annoying..' Regina knew it might be unfair to tell her wife all of this, especially since Emma already missed so many of these moments, but there was no point in lying as they shared the same emotions while reliving these memories. Emma nodded.

 _'Can we visit the horses later mommy?' little Henry asked and Regina smiled at the boy._

 _'Just finish your shake and I'll think about it, little prince.'_

Emma grinned at Regina and thought it cute that Regina called their son little prince.  
'What are you grinning about?' the brunette asked and Emma just pulled the Mayor close and kissed her sweetly.  
'Oh just at how adorable you can be sometimes..'

Regina pulled her hand off the photo and they returned home. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's neck and smiled at her wife.  
'That was a lovely memory, thank you.'  
They sat in silence for a moment, just enjoying each other and the sun coming through the window on this cold December morning. They knew well enough not to wish for snow in Storybrooke as the worst weather they could expect was heavy rain. Not since Elsa and Anna had left their town anyway.  
'Do you want to continue or maybe we should grab some coffee first?  
Emma looked at Regina with a childlike expression. 'I'm good, just show me more, please! But first..' Emma said and pulled Regina onto the bed and under the covers. 'Let's get you more comfortable.'  
Regina squeeled when Emma grabbed her so sudden but enjoyed the feeling of her true love, kissing her softly while tangled together under the covers.  
'Not that I'm complaining, but if you want to see more I shall have to keep the book closeby,' Regina said, giggling when Emma started nibbling on her ear.  
'I guess we'll just have to continue this..' she said, sliding her hand down Regina's body, lingering on her hip, '..later..' She let her lips rest against her wifes' for a moment longer and then let go of the other woman so she could reach for the album. Together they flipped through some of the pages and picked out a photo. This one had just Henry in it, standing in front of his school with his backpack in hand.

 _'Could you please just stand there a bit longer, Henry, I'm trying to figure out this new camera thingy!' Regina said and tried to keep the impatient Henry from walking away. The schoolbell had rung already but she wanted a photo of her little boy, looking so grown up even though he had only moved up a grade this year. 'One more, please. Smile!'_

 _Henry looked at his mom and gave his best I'm-smiling-but-embarrassed face._

'Definitely your son, Emma,' Regina laughed and Emma poked the brunette in her side. 'You both have no patience.'  
The women stared lovingly at the younger version of their son. He had grown up so fast. Regina felt a pang of maternal sadness and Emma felt it right along with her. She hadn't felt such feelings often and she hugged Regina tightly to try and soften both their feelings.  
'Our little boy, so grown up now, not yet a man though..' Emma whispered and Regina nodded. 'Years have flown by and I didn't realize it as much as I do now,' the brunette said and they both fell silent, just keeping their eyes on the boy that was walking towards his mom and hugging her tight.

 _'I love you too, mom. I promise I will come straight home after school.'_

 _'I love you more, little prince. Have fun!' Regina said but the boy had already started running towards the entrance of the school building._

Emma walked a bit towards the past-Regina and stretched out her arm, trying to slide her hand down her arm, but like a ghost, her hand flew through the womans' arm, unnoticed. The blonde had felt so many emotions in just that one moment, she felt the need to comfort the woman seeing her son leave for school. Her wife pulled her back around and close to her body.  
'I'm ok, really. It felt strange, maybe even painful, back then, but I'm fine now. I'm just sorry you couldn't have done that with him too..' Regina sighed and wiped a few stray hairs from Emma's face, pushing them behind her ear.  
'It's amazing how much love you feel for our son, not that I didn't already know, but now that we are linked together it feels so much stronger, inside my own heart too..' Emma blushed and knew she loved her wife even more now than she did when she woke up this morning. Regina could also feel the love radiating from her saviour and they stood there glowing blissfully.

Regina slid her fingers from the photo and traced them down Emma's cheek.  
'If it wasn't for Henry, we might not have met..' Regina spoke softly and her breath on the blonde's lips made Emma feel tingly inside.  
'True love would always find a way..' Emma replied and kissed those soft and full lips she loved so much. They had no idea how long they must have been lying there, nor did they care.  
'One more..?' Regina asked and Emma happily agreed.  
'We still have all day, if not all our lives together, to go through all of them..' Emma said and kissed Regina once more.

Without showing Emma the last photo, she placed her fingers on the image and locked lips with her wife.

 _'Maybe..you could stay?' Emma said, sounding a bit nervous. She had followed Regina outside, leaving her family at Granny's._

 _'No, it's ok. I don't want to intrude your family dinner. Tell Henry I love him, please.' Regina looked as strong as ever but her voice gave her away._

 _'Henry wants you to come back with me, and I think I want the same, Gina. After everything we've been through recently, I'm sure you are part of the family..'_

 _Regina looked unsure, as if the blonde was playing some sort of trick on her._

'I remember this moment.. but why are we here..?' Emma asked and Regina just nodded towards their past selves.

 _'I would love that.. very much,' Regina said after a long breath. She walked to and with Emma, back inside the diner, and sat down next to her at the table. Henry hugged his mom and shared a look with Emma behind her back. They smiled and when Henry let go of Regina, Snow and David raised a glass to the heroes of the day._

 _'To family!' they toasted in harmony, and they all smiled, happy to be home, finally._

'I remember that night, we just solved yet another magical problem, and you were about to leave. I asked you to join our family dinner..'  
Regina smiled brightly and felt her heart flutter. Emma felt it too.  
'This was the first moment I knew I loved you. The moment I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Even if you didn't know back then.. or feel it for that matter.'  
Emma stared through the window of Granny's diner, they all looked so happy together.  
'You know, that look that Henry gave me..' Emma started and Regina fixed her eyes on her wife.  
'I asked you to join us because I hoped you would want to spend more time with me, even if there was no danger involved. I wanted to be with you but you never had the time. So I ran after you that night, hoping that this time you would give in to your feelings..'  
Regina felt her face flush and looked into Emma's green eyes.  
'You knew I loved you?' she stammered and Emma laughed.  
'I think the kid knew before either of us did, but I guess I did know you had some feelings for me..'  
Regina felt speechless, thinking she was on top of everything. Emma kissed the brunette passionately and smirked.

As Regina let go of the book, she hugged the blonde closer than ever and lost herself in a soft and endless kiss. Emma had been right. True love would always find a way. When they broke the kiss to gasp for air, Regina let out a giggle. It didn't happen very often that she felt so giddy, almost as if she was a girl again.  
'You always surprise me, Mrs Mills,' she said to the blonde who was now snuggled up on her chest. Regina's heartbeat sounded steady and strong. Emma felt the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach, created by their linked minds.  
'Happy Christmas, dear,' Regina whispered against the saviours lips.  
'Happy Christmas, my love.'


End file.
